DraftKings Fined by New Jersey Regulator Over Self-Exclusion Glitch

One of the leading sports betting operators in the U.S. DraftKings has been fined by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement because of a glitch in the company’s “cool-off status” feature.

Malfunction allowed self-excluded customers to continue betting

The glitch happened between October 24 and November 16 last year, and after DraftKings discovered, it quickly reported it to the Garden State’s gambling authority.According to available information, a total of 54 DraftKings’ customers have been in cool-off status during the said period, while 13 of them wagered around $29,000. Those wagers brought DraftKings around $3,200.DraftKings explained the cause of the glitch had been a software update. The malfunction didn’t completely remove the cool-off status of bettors but simply set the time-frame at 0 days.The law in New Jersey enables gamblers to choose a cooling-off option, which will exclude them from all gambling websites operating within the state for a period of at least 72 hours.

The Fine

In terms of revenue, DraftKings is the second largest sports operator doing business in New Jersey, with FanDuel leading the way since the regulated sports betting kicked-off in June last year. According to available information, DraftKings, which entered the New Jersey market through a partnership with Resorts Casino Hotel, ended May with revenue of $4.1 million.After the glitch was reported, the state’s gambling watchdog announced the operator would have to pay a fine and return the earnings generated from the self-excluded bettors. DraftKings was fined $7,000, with an obligation to return $3,277 to the customers affected by the glitch.In addition to this, DraftKings has sent promotional material to self-excluded players across New Jersey, but the regulator didn’t reveal any detailed information.The Division of Gaming Enforcement didn’t receive any complaint by gamblers affected by the glitch, which was taken into consideration when deciding the size of the fine. It should be pointed out the operators was the one to informed the regulator about the glitch, and resolve the matter on the very same day.

Another Operator Has Been Recently Fined as Well

Apart from DraftKings, the Division of Gaming Enforcement fined another operator for reasons related to self-exclusion a couple of months ago. Back in March, GVC Holdings, which owns and the famous Bwin online gambling brand was issued an $81,000 fine by the state’s gambling authority.DraftKings has not been the only New Jersey-facing operator to have been fined for self-exclusion failures over the past several months. In March, GVC Holdings, the owner of the bwin online gambling It was discovered the operator had violated a number of New Jersey’s self-exclusion rules. This allowed self-excluded bettors to place bets on the gambling site. A total of 12 people, previously self-excluded, lost a total of $41,759.49.This happened before GVC Holdings acquired bwin, which operates in New Jersey through a deal with The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, in February 2016. The Atlantic City casino was fined as well and was issued to pay the same amount as its partner.